A Game of Pretend
by yumesakura
Summary: There was a pang in her chest. She didn't know that pretending to be his girlfriend could take such a toll on her heart; so she decided not to let it. "It's nothing. Just ignore it. It's all just a game."


**A Game of Pretend**

**Chapter 1**

**

* * *

**_yumesakura _**here! Okay! Before you kill me, please listen to what I have to say!**

**I **_know_** that I should be working on my other story, **That Was Then, This Is now**, but I seriously wanted to do this!**

**While browsing SasuSaku fan art on deviantart, I was inspired to write a story! And to tell you the truth, I've been wanting to write a Naruto fanfiction.**

**Please do not bash me about this pairing. I've **_heard it all_** already!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. I put in a lot of effort into it. Please lend me your support!**

**Rated M for language and future lemon.  
**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is owned by the very famous, and also genius, Masashi Kishimoto (although there are times I question his decisions :/ )**  
**

**

* * *

**Tuesdays were always her favorite day of the week. The sun was always high up in the azure sky; cloudless. There was always a light breeze coming from the North. There was nothing particularly special about Tuesdays, but she found it to be a day she just always enjoyed.

Well, that wasn't the case right now.

Sakura Haruno walked through the marketplace coming from the hospital. She held a red umbrella and let out an exasperated sigh. The rain had been coming down hard ever since morning. It was bad enough that Sakura worked in a place that was gloomy throughout the day; but she didn't want to deal with it during practice.

The young medic-nin, being a girl, had argued with her ex-sensei about training outside when the weather was ruthless.

* * *

_**This Morning**_

'_Sakura,' Kakashi hadn't even looked up at her from his beloved Icha Icha Paradise novel, 'You're a ninja; a kunoichi. We're taking this as an opportunity. The land is different when the weather changes.'_

'_Sensei, I work in a hospital for at least twelve hours a day. This kind of weather never helps my mood.'_

'_It's good preparation and development of your skills, Sakura. Be here after you're all done at the hospital.'_

_

* * *

_She grumbled. She had no problem with training; although she was exhausted. But it really didn't help her temperament _especially_ when she worked in a disheartened place to training in a depressed environment. She'd put up with it for now, but next time she'd have a long discussion.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned around and smiled to see the person dressed in green spandex run her way.

"Hi Lee," Sakura gave him a warm smile.

The bowl-cut haired boy stopped in front of her, jogging in place. "I see that you got off from work, Sakura! Are you heading home now?"

"Ah, no…I'm going to the training grounds to meet up with Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Sai and…Sasuke."

Lee frowned, "Sakura, forgive me if I insult you, but you look terrible today. Do not get me wrong! You…you have always been beautiful to me, Sakura." They both blushed at his comment. "But you look as if you had not gotten enough sleep."

It was true. For the past three days, Sakura hadn't gotten enough rest due to her medical studies, and because of long hours of work _and_ training.

But she just smiled and shook her head, "It's nothing. My day off is tomorrow, so I'll be fine."

Lee gave her a grin, "That's good to hear." He continued to jog in place.

"What about you Lee? Are you doing some sort of…drill?"

"I am training my stamina! I am doing 300 laps around the village before sunset! And if I fail I will—"

Sakura held her hand up, interrupting him, "I get it Lee." She laughed, "So I'll see you around."

At this Lee gave her a pleasant smile, "Don't catch a cold, Sakura!" And he continued his training.

'_You're the one who needs to worry about that.'_

She and Lee were on rather good terms. After all, she was in love with him. Key word; _was._ It was a long story, but two years ago she went out with Lee and their relationship lasted for a year. Sakura of course loved Lee for who he was. Next to Naruto, he had one of the kindest and biggest hearts. She admired him.

When she announced it to Ino, her blonde friend was shocked. After a long discussion they both had decided that they would still be friends after the break up. And they did; they were much closer these days.

At first Sakura was in a state of dejection, but after a couple of weeks she realized that her depression wasn't about love, it was about feeling troubled about losing someone close to her and never being able to be the same with that person again. She was wrong about that; she and Lee were still great friends.

And then, a year after…Sasuke came back. It was a shock to the whole village. When Tsunade had found out that Itachi and Orochimaru had been killed, they all figured it was Sasuke's doing. And when the news was passed onto Naruto, he immediately got up and went to look for Sasuke. He even brought along Sai, Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, Kiba, Chouji, Lee and Gaara.

Of course Sakura wanted to go herself, but Naruto had insisted that she stay.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Naruto beamed at Sakura while his hand was on her shoulder, 'I will find Sasuke. I just think it is best you stay here, Sakura-chan, to—'_

'_But Naruto—'_

_The blonde raised his hand, 'I think it's best that you stay here…to welcome Sasuke back home.'_

'_Naruto…'_

_He had a wide grin on his face, 'So wait here, alright? I'll bring him back, believe it!'_

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

It had been a long time since he said that phrase, and to her surprise, it lifted her spirits. So she did what she always did, she trusted Naruto. And he kept his word, he brought Sasuke _home_.

But it was obvious that the village did not give him a warm welcome. After all, who would when their beloved home was being threatened by one of their own?

* * *

**_Flashback_**

_Sakura waited by the gates of Konoha, hoping that Naruto and the others would just come back. It had been a month since they left the village to look for Sasuke. And according to Tsunade, today was the day that they would have to come back. _

_The Hokage made sure that they understood that the village shouldn't be unprotected for so long. Sure they had many ninjas and ANBU surrounding the area, but not having half of their most gifted ninjas left them in a vulnerable state. And since Suna's Kazekage, also known as Gaara, was not there, they may also be in danger._

_At around 5:30 in the morning, Ino and TenTen came to join their friend._

_TenTen handed Sakura a cup of coffee which Sakura accepted gratefully. 'You've been out here for four hours. They could be coming at any time of the day Sakura.'_

'_TenTen's right, forehead,' Ino joked, 'Why don't you come back to my place and have a little nap?'_

_Sakura just shook her head, 'Thanks you guys, but I made a promise to welcome them home.'_

_Ino sighed, 'There's chance that Sasuke won't be with them.'_

'_I know, Ino. I know, but,' She looked up at her two friends and gave them a small smile. 'I'm going to welcome our friends home whether or not they bring Sasuke back.'_

_TenTen and Ino looked at each other and smiled. They sat down and Sakura didn't need to ask them what they were doing. It was clear that they would also welcome their teammates back home._

_They stayed there for four hours, taking turns to go buy refreshments. It was now scorching hot and Ino had taken off one of the layers of her uniform. That was when Hinata and her sister Hanabi came along._

_Hinata smiled, 'I brought lunch.' Hanabi held a picnic basket that her older sister gestured to._

'_Where have you been? We've been sitting on our asses for hours and you decided to come now?' Ino of course was drenched in sweat and quite irritated._

_Hinata began to stutter, 'Ah…um…w-well, something c-came up with my father! I…I couldn't get out of it…sorry.' Hinata bowed in shame and TenTen just patted her on the back._

'_Don't mind Ino, Hinata. She's particularly bitchy today due to the heat,' TenTen laughed as Ino shoved her. 'Right, Sakura?'_

_Sakura didn't answer._

'_Hey! Forehead!'_

_She still gave no answer._

_The other girls looked towards Sakura's gaze and saw a few figures coming. When they came closer, they could already make them out._

_Shino was walking next to Kiba, who were walking closely after Neji, Lee and Gaara. Sai was walking on the side of Kiba along with Chouji._

_Sakura squinted and saw Naruto following from a distance behind them. If Sasuke was with him, she would've seen his raven-haired head by now. And she didn't._

_She was happy though, to see them all home. They looked injured and worn out._

_Shikamaru approached Ino and scowled, 'Ino…put your shirt back on.'_

'_Hey! It's hot! And I'm sweating!'_

'_Then you should've worn—'_

'_Less?'_

'_Ugh…troublesome,' Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck._

_Ino grabbed onto Shikamaru's arm and kissed him ever so lightly on his lips. It was a sweet action. 'Why don't we go take a nice shower together? Or maybe go straight to fu__—__' Shikamaru covered his mouth to shut Ino up. He was blushing slightly and mumbled, 'Troublesome…' It was about a year ago did Shikamaru and Ino start dating. They actually made a worthy couple._

_Sakura turned her gaze to Naruto to see why he was walking so slowly, and what she saw stunned her and everyone else who saw._

_There, arm slung around Naruto's shoulder, was Uchiha Sasuke._

_Her heart started to beat rapidly. She couldn't think straight. And in seconds, Naruto and Sasuke were standing just a few feet in front of her._

_That day, Naruto gave one of the biggest and brightest grin, his blue eyes gleamed, 'I told you I'd bring him home.'_

_Everyone was waiting for what she'd say._

_She had to keep her promise too. Sakura gave them a tired yet joyful smile, 'Welcome home, everyone.' Sakura looked at Sasuke and saw that he was asleep. 'Welcome home, Sasuke…kun.'_

_Her smile was small, but it was there. She thought she may never get to say that to him._

_**End Flashback

* * *

**_

After that, they were all treated at the hospital. It was quite evident that they all gave Sasuke a tough fight.

Ino pestered Shikamaru on why they didn't help Naruto carry Sasuke, but Shikamaru just said that Naruto insisted that he could handle it.

Sakura guessed that Naruto wanted to spend some time with Sasuke, even if the avenger was asleep the whole time.

The day after, Sasuke was put on suspension for seven months and then probation for eight months. After a year and three months, the village no longer looked at him with scorn or disdain in their eyes; although it would still take a while to feel at ease with the Uchiha.

His punishment wasn't as light as most people thought. He was on house arrest for the first six months and his every move was watched by the ANBU. He did not have any privileges during his punishment. And Tsunade thought of the one thing Sasuke couldn't stand. He wasn't allowed on any missions at all. Not one until twelve months had passed.

The rain started to lift a little bit and Sakura was thankful for that. When she reached the training grounds, she eyes fell upon Sai, Naruto and Sasuke.

She looked at Sasuke carefully. When he was brought home, Sakura never spoke a word to him. But she was glad. Her heart no longer pounded in her chest. She had gotten rid of her feelings for Sasuke a long time ago. All she wanted was to at least rekindle their friendship.

It was just too bad that Uchiha Sasuke didn't show a single interest in doing so.

And when she realized that, there was a pang in her chest.

It was just too bad that Haruno Sakura didn't bother with whatever she felt.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Alright! I got that done! Oh! And if you're a _Gakuen Alice/Alice Academy_ fan, please check out my story, That Was Then, This Is Now (I promise to try and update this sooner).

So this is my very first story on Naruto. Don't worry, the story is just developing. I hope you enjoyed it!

Also, to you anti SasuSaku fans, please don't bash me or anyone else who likes this pairing. Because really, they've worked really hard writing their stories. They don't need immature people complaining. I DO NOT CARE if this pairing is highly unlikely.

News flash, THIS IS FANFICTION. Please don't tell me things about how unrealistic this pair is. People come here to be creative and imaginative. They don't come here just to have other people tell them what should be just because it's more realistic. Like I said, don't bother bashing me about it, because I've heard it all before.

I'm not a fan on NaruSasu, SasuHina, KakaSaku, ShikaTema etc. But I do not flame them. I RESPECT their opinions.

So please, read about a pairing you do like. We all have our _own_ opinions. If you don't like this pairing, then hey, it's cool with me. But when you start criticizing my story just because you hate this pairing, then that's just immature.

Sorry for ranting off, I just wanted to make sure that people got my point before I continued this story.

Anyways, thank you all so much for reading. I hope you liked it. And again, this is rated M for language and furture lemon. I didn't mention this in the summary 'cause I couldn't fit it, but even though this story is mainly about Sasuke and Sakura, I am definitely putting in other pairings(:

I think I'm going to enjoy writing this story. Please keep supporting me!

Oh, and review please. It helps my confidence (: _And check my profile page for updates! I usually put up notices on updates on my profile frequently._

Next chapter is dedicated to the 10th reviewer!

Adieu!

_—yumesakura_


End file.
